Campaign Challenge #2 -- The Imago

So here goes for the 2nd Campaign Challenge Rachael Harrie gave us at Rach Writes. The challenge was to write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title, that includes the word "imago" in the title and in the body of the post includes the following 4 random words: "miasma," "lacuna," "oscitate," "synchronicity". For an added challenge make reference to a mirror in the post. For an even greater challenge, make the post 200 words exactly. All criteria are met (after much gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair.)

The Imago  (Picture courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

                                                     The Imago

Arms folded, Nyla stares through the beveled glass door into the galería. Somehow, the glass is both mirror and window. Superimposed on the polished floors of the sunlit galeria beyond, her reflection stares back, as if bemused. 

When Nyla was younger, in the miasma of grief that pervaded her home, she sometimes caught mental glimpses of who she might become away from her family’s confused dynamics. These glimpses led her on, in hopes of escaping the pain that oscitated inside her, as one family member after another went down dubious roads to disaster. Now, through some synchronicity, her decision to teach English in Spain has allowed her to catch up the person she hoped to be. 

Or has it? When Nyla raises a hand to brush a wisp of hair back from her face, her reflection remains motionless, arms folded. How can that be? 

Uneasily, Nyla forces a smile—a smile that isn’t returned. Is the woman in the glass not a reflection after all? Is the beveled glass in the door some lacuna opening into another dimension? Nyla’s thoughts whirl and scatter, reaching for an explanation.

The imago beckons, then reaches a hand through the glass, and Nyla screams.


This is linky entry # 128.

The Campaigner Challenge # 1

     I'm taking part in the platform building campaign, and today Rachael Harrie posted her first challenge at her blog, Rach Writes: Write a flash fiction, 200 words or less, that opens with "The door swung open." If possible, close with "The door swung closed." My sample is below.

BUT FIRST: Don't forget the contest to win a free copy of my book, The Fourth Wish, in either paperback or Kindle format (winner's choice). The contest ends this Friday, September 9th. To follow the rules for getting points, please go here, and any comments you have regarding the contest, please leave at the same site (here), so that I can keep your points straight.

Here's my flash fiction -- 200 words exactly (not counting the title).

     Dare You

The door swung open. Darkness lay beyond. A slivered moon and powdery stars shimmered above. Trees along the street were ghostly shapes. 

Cassie bit her lip. The deal was that she had to come alone. At midnight. Justin  would be watching from someplace nearby to make sure. 

Why did she take his dares? Wading up the Truckee River after school. Cutting classes to hang out in Idlewild Park. (That one got her sent to the principal's office.) But, Justin was cool. And when Cassie went along with each new challenge, he made her feel she was cool, too. It was worth getting into trouble just to see the envious stares from other girls as he walked her down the hall between classes. 

Cassie shivered. This was the first night-time dare. The abandoned house was creepy enough even in daylight. Shutters hung lopsided from the front windows, like broken wings. A loose board near the threshold creaked under her foot. She should turn back.

But, an image of Justin walking down the hall with Angela Black -- the most popular girl at school -- instead of her, made Cassie swallow her fright. She stepped into the waiting darkness.

The door swung shut.